The Zombie Family Takes a Selfie, by Ed McManis

Poetry, chapbook, 40 pages, from Bottlecap Features.

Tolstoy tells us in Anna Karenina, “Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” And for me, that begs the question, “But what of Zombie families?” Ok, I’m not really begging that question, but I do have questions about being one of ten kids in an Irish Catholic family.

What didn’t make sense was explained as a mystery. And for me, a naïve, dreamy altar boy, my first impressions—saints, martyrs, zombies, clowns, vampires--were easily interchangeable. Now as I half-heartedly watch the spate of Zombie movies and shows and reflect, I’ve recorded bits and scenes from my relationships and observations with my family. Plenty of fodder for Tolstoy; leftovers for my siblings and the others in my life in this chapbook.

"Ed McManis writes about religion without sentimentalizing or denigrating it, but as a natural expression of life. That gift is very rare. His work is never pretentious or obscure, his humor genuine and without malice. He likes people and it shows, and of course, with phrases and images that are perfect."

—Joanne Greenberg, author of I Never Promised You a Rose Garden

"McManis’s The Zombie Family Takes a Selfie is brilliant with recall, though the 'orphaned memories' the poet summons (or parries) in search of an understanding of his life and his family are anything but healing and sustaining. The comforts of 'kidnapped attention' are few and hard earned—a grandmother's wisdom, a father's dance moves, a grandchild's giggle—precious insights captured by flashbulb in the darkness of loss and regret. It is a bittersweet collection, a poet's family album, and the 'selfies' McManis frames are painful but authentic illuminations of a soul.

—William Zaranka, editor of The Brand X Anthology of Poetry

"Humor is too often considered a lower effect in poetry. But humor of the Ed McManis kind is a telling quality. Sometimes provocation, sometimes manic wit, sometimes a sucker punch of revelation. Think Stevie Smith with a cell phone snapping photos at the annual family picnic. Are these people really related to me? she wonders. And a distant cousin standing close by, the aforesaid Ed McManis, glances at her as if he'd read her mind. 'So,' Stevie says to him, 'do you believe in God?' Readers will find the answer in these sharp-witted, joyful poems."

—Joseph Hutchison, former Colorado Poet Laureate, author of The World As Is and The Satire Lounge

Ed McManis is a writer, editor, & erstwhile Head of School. His work has appeared in more than 60 publications, including The Blue Road Reader, California Quarterly, Nimrod, Narrative, Lascaux Review, etc. He and his wife, Linda, have two grown sons and three grandchildren. 

Little known trivia fact: he holds the outdoor free-throw record at Camp Santa Maria: 67 in a row.